Maximum Ride: Twilight Zone
by flocker1destiny1freedom
Summary: This takes place a few months after book 3, when Max and the flock still have to save the world. A few other problems arise, one being a huge one. Also, the book Twilight comes in.
1. 1

Disclaimer: I own none of the Flock, the Erasers, Itex, Jeb, Anne, Marian, etc. I own the setting, but that's it. Enjoy the story!

Chapter 1

After we left Mom's and Ella's house a few weeks ago, we've been on the run, staying incognito, "borrowing" cars and such.

Redundant much?

However, instead of staying in plush, luxurious little caves and feasting on rat a la stick,

I've made the executive decision of checking into a Marriott and getting the food we need with my everlasting bank card.

Keep in mind that this only happened after over 48 hours of fighting, whining, pleading, coaxing and cajoling from the flock. Especially Fang, who, during these past months, has been siding less with me and more with the flock.

But here's how the flock sees this situation: If the world really is going to end, then it would be kind of nice just to relax for a few weeks and have some time to enjoy life before it ends. It took every ounce of self restraint that I had to keep from screaming, _Guys, we can't lose our guard! We'll stop the world from ending soon! But there's no way we can do this if you guys want to just stand by and look on as Itex and those other sickos start killing off half the population! We have to get on the ball and start saving the world! They could be carrying on with that _right now!

But, of course, that logic was too clear for them to handle.

So here we are, in a posh hotel suite, with heavy bills on my card, the flock completely relaxed and happy, and me-you guessed it-more ticked off and more tense than ever. Not to mention that we're completely vulnerable and would be caught off guard by, say, a Flyboy attack.

Besides, couldn't we be surrounded by enemies at this very moment? Suppose they're in this very hotel, or even in adjoining rooms with us?

"Max?" Nudge hopped up from the bed that she, the Gasman, and Angel were sitting on, watching TV. "Can we order more food? We're getting kind of hungry." I noticed that the twelve dishes that Nudge, Angel and Gazzy had eagerly devoured were almost clean, save for the little bits of veggies, sauces and parsley dotting the plates.

"Nudge, sweetie, can we not? It was bad enough that we had to order twenty-four dishes for only six of us. Can't you wait until tomorrow?"

"But we're _hungry_," Nudge whined.

Angel and the Gasman turned their Bambi eyes toward me.

Fang, who was updating his blog in the sitting room, turned to me and almost smiled. I gave him a death look that said, _If you do not help me, I will kill you._

Sighing, he said, "Max is trying to keep us from blowing our cover. Why don't you have the candy basket left by the maid?"

Huffing, Nudge grumpily stomped over to the breakfast nook, grabbed the basket, and stomped back to the bed.

Iggy came out of the bathroom, whistling. "Gaz," he called. "Your turn for the shower."

The Gasman jumped up, then let out a earsplitting and deadly fart. His awful stench filled the room, and we all started gagging and choking.

"GAZZY!" I hollered.

Fang raced to the light switch and turned on the fan, holding his breath. It didn't really help, though.

Nudge and Angel were coughing, fanning the air. Nudge was swearing like a sailor. I made a mental note to give her a lecture about swearing.

"Gazzy, what the heck did you _eat_?!" Iggy bellowed.

The Gasman shrugged, looking sheepish. "I think it was the refried beans."

"REFRIED BEANS?!"

"I don't know. It was something like that."

"Gaz, here's a tip," I fumed, about to blow my top. Not just from him, from the whole situation in general. "Next time, _don't ever_ order beans!"


	2. 2

After the bean fiasco, and everyone showered and went to bed, I walked into the girls' bedroom and silently flipped on the tube. I flipped through some channels, but this TV was kind of crappy, considering that we were in a _Marriott_. I landed on one family channel, and this bright, happy woman was preaching something about "getting along to create peace."

"This," she was saying, "is what prevents wars from beginning, what keeps countries at peace, but it also helps your family and community live together peacefully as well."

_Oh, sure,_ I thought. _Only in Pixieland, where all of the fairies make happiness prevail, and little elves, butterflies, and unicorns roam freely. _In the real world, there have been fights for as long as the world existed, and probably will be forever.

The woman changed topics. "Family is very important. Our connections to those we love will keep us strong as we go through life. We must remember that nothing is stronger than your connections with your family."

My throat tightened. Since I've become a supreme crybaby in the past months, it's not surprising that I'd cry over something as dumb as this. I switched off the television. Suddenly, I heard a moan and sniffle. I froze. I swiveled my head around to locate the source of the noise, and it seemed to be coming from Nudge's bed. I tiptoed to Nudge's side.

She screamed, "NO!" and I jumped. "Not Max, not Fang, not anyone!" She was writhing and twisting in her bedcovers. "Except you freaks," she growled menacingly.

"Nudge?" I said frantically. "Nudge, wake up!"

**Nudge's POV **

_One of my ankles was tied to a rope that was held by an Eraser. My wings were free so that I could fly behind them. I had tried as hard as I could to cut the rope, but it was as hard as steel._

_The clan of Erasers was only about as big as twenty or so. Max, Fang, Iggy, the Gasman, and Angel were in crates in the air, carried by the Erasers. We were high up, in a bunch of thick, fluffy clouds. _

_Suddenly, the lead Eraser stopped our progress. "Now, why don't we have a little fun?" he asked gleefully. He directed his next question to me. "Let's see, which one of your members would you like to see fall? Just one." _

"_None of them," I snarled. _

"_You don't want to play fairly, so I guess we'll just go in line. How about Max?" Max gave me a look that said, _Just do this. I love you, but I'll have to go. _I shook my head at her. _

"_NO!" I screamed. "Not Max, not Fang, not ANYONE! Except you freaks," I growled the last part menacingly. _

_I gave them all looks of despair. I raked my gaze over every one of them. Angel sent me a thought: _It's okay, Nudge. It'll be okay.

_Knowing that our sitch was anything but, I stared at her. Then I realized something. The cage she was in would open if dropped, if they could reach the lever in time. _No,_ I thought._ Not _if_. They _will_. This will work! It will!

_Angel read my thoughts, then sent me another one. _What will you do?,_ she asked. _

Tell them to drop all of us,_ I sent to her._ Tell them to do that, and we will escape.

_Angel nodded, then scrunched her face up in concentration. She then sent this info to everyone's heads. Max shot me a determined glance. Fang nodded almost imperceptibly. Iggy and Gazzy grinned at me_, _and Angel yelled, "Whee-ha!" _

_The Erasers glanced at her, startled. Then they turned their gaze to me. "So, which one, Nudge? Which one do you want to see die?" _

"_All of them." I snarled. "They're pathetic experiments with limited powers and I hate them. I no longer want them." The flock pretended to act shocked. Max fake-glared at me, then looked at Angel. Seconds later, Angel sent me a thought: _Max says good acting. Now let's blow this joint!

_I grinned evilly, then turned to the Erasers. They were impressed. _

"_Very well," the leader said. First, the Eraser holding Max let go. Then, one by one, the rest of the flock fell. _

_I turned to the Eraser holding my rope. "Thank you. Hasta la vista," I said sweetly. _

_His brow creased. "What the-" _

_Before he could finish his sentence, Max rose up, out of nowhere, and punched his lights out. She slit my rope with torn metal (probably from the cage), and whispered, "Good thinking, Nudge." Moments later, the rest of the flock rose into the cloud clearing, ready to fight. _

_The leader howled in pain as Fang grabbed both of his wings and pushed them together, hard, behind him. I heard his keening cries as he fell downward. _

"_Nudge, duck!" I heard Angel yell. I ducked, narrowly avoiding a swift Eraser punch._

_The Gasman threw a bomb at five Erasers, and then wheeled out of the way. I shrieked as bits of Eraser hit me. "EW! God, Gazzy, gross! Oh, gross!"_

_I felt a tap on my shoulder, turned, and screamed. The Eraser gently grabbed my face and shook me. "Nudge! Wake up!" it said._

_I screamed again._

"_WAKE UP!" it yelled._

I opened my eyes to see Max's concerned face above me. Fang was behind her, and I could hear Angel, Iggy, and Gazzy whispering.

"Huh? Wha' happened? Erasers?" I asked groggily.

"That's what we want to know," Max said solemnly.

**Max POV**

Fang came running.

"What's going on?" He saw Nudge's writhing form and rushed to her side. "Nudge, Nudge, wake up!" he whispered.

"I tried that, it doesn't work," I told him.

"No, really?" he snarled. Suddenly, Nudge went still.

"Nudge, honey, wake up!" I whispered frantically.

"Wait," Fang said quietly. "It might be over."

"Max? What's wrong?" I heard Angel's voice behind me and jumped _again_. God, what was with me?

"I think Nudge is having a nightmare." _No duh!_

"Like the ones you had?"

"Probably."

Suddenly Nudge spoke so clearly, I thought she'd woken up. "Thank you. Hasta la vista."

_What the heck?_ I thought.

Iggy and Gazzy appeared at the door. "Guys?" Iggy asked. "Is Max having one of those nightmares again?" They came to sit on the bed.

"No, this time it's Nudge," I said, trying to appear calm.

Nudge shrieked, "EW!" making us all jump. "God, Gazzy, gross! Oh, gross!"

I shook her shoulder. She started squirming, and I held her face.

"Nudge! Wake up!" I shouted.

"Max, quiet down a bit!" Gazzy complained.

I ignored him. "WAKE UP!" I yelled.

"Way to be kind and gentle, Max," Fang said.

Nudge's eyes creaked open. She took in the view of us, and then whispered, "Huh? Wha' happened?"

"That's what we want to know," I said.

Nudge pushed herself upright, then began her full recount of the dream. We listened with patience as she told us how we were in cages, we escaped and how it ended.

"Wow. Do you think that now we can sleep?" I asked Nudge. It was about ten-thirty.

She nodded, and I sent everyone off and said goodnight to her.

"Fang? Can you take the next watch?" I asked.

"Sure," he replied, and I gratefully drifted off to bed.


End file.
